From April 7 to 11, Wu Weixing, Deputy Secretary of CUEB Party Committee and President, led a delegation to Hong Kong and Macao to attend the “15th Anniversary Forum of the Cross-Strait, Hong Kong, Macao Consumer Confidence Index” (hereafter the Forum), and the Joint Press Conference for the First Quarter of 2024. Their itinerary included visits to esteemed institutions such as the City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association, the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau of Macao, the Macao Foundation, the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), and the University of Macau. Notably, a collaborative agreement was formed with MUST. This visit was highly productive, yielding fruitful outcomes as a resounding success.

On April 8, Wu Weixing attended the Forum and the joint press conference, and met with Xie Bangchang, the Vice President of Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan, as well as expert teams from all regions. At the commemorative seminar and press conference, Wu reviewed the enduring cooperation among the four universities over the past 15 years. He pointed out that this index’s sustained development as a landmark achievement of cooperation was attributable to collective efforts and support. Wu also expressed his expectations and proposed suggestions for advancing cooperation further, enriching the index’s intrinsic value, enhancing its influence on economic and social development, and promoting interregional exchanges across China.

On April 9th, Wu led the delegation to visit the HK Tech 300 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program hosted by the City University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association. They visited the leading start-up companies incubated by the City University of Hong Kong and had an extensive exchange with the Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association on how to provide diverse education to students from mainland China and Hong Kong.

On the morning of April 10, Wu was invited to visit Macau University of Science and Technology, the History and Achievements Exhibition Hall, and the State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine. On behalf of CUEB, Wu signed a collaborative agreement with Li Xingwei, President of MUST. This agreement signifies a substantive consensus on the exchange between students and teachers, joint research, and academic resource sharing. In this context, both sides anticipate embarking on this new chapter of collaboration, poised to make significant strides together.

At the signing ceremony, Wu Weixing reviewed the cooperation history spanning more than 15 years between CUEB and MUST in consumer confidence research. He highlighted CUEB’s disciplinary strengths, particularly in areas such as digital transformation and development, digital economy, data science, and statistics, envisioning fruitful outcomes from joint endeavors. Li Xingwei commended the significance of the Consumer Confidence Index of Cross-Strait, Hong Kong, and Macao as a notable achievement of MUST. He expressed sincere appreciation for the unremitting efforts of the research teams from both sides in advancing consumer confidence research. Looking ahead, he expressed eagerness to deepen cooperation across a wider spectrum of fields, leveraging their respective disciplinary strengths to bring forth mutual outcomes at broader scopes and deeper levels, thus becoming reliable partners built on trust and mutual support.

On the afternoon of April 10, Wu led the delegation to visit the Macao Foundation and the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau of Macao, engaging in exchanges with Wu Zhiliang, Chairman of the Administrative Committee of the Macao Foundation, and Zhang Zuowen, Director of DSEPDR. They explored strategies to capitalize on Macao’s geographical advantage as a bridge to better promote cooperation among mainland China, Macao, and global universities. Wu also introduced CUEB’s latest achievements in personnel cultivation and research innovation.

On the morning of April 11, Wu and the delegation visited the University of Macau, engaging in profound discussions with Song Yonghua, President of this university. They also visited the Exhibition Hall of the University of Macau and the Center for Chinese History and Culture. Both sides had a thorough discussion on fully leveraging their research strengths and resource advantages to promote frontier interdisciplinary research and technological innovation, aiming to strengthen cooperation.

This visit holds significant importance in aligning with the spirit of the Fifth Party Congress of CUEB and advancing the Silk Road Project. It lays a solid foundation for CUEB to further focus on disciplinary strengths, expand the scope of cooperation and exchange, promote development results, and introduce high-quality educational resources from overseas, so as to elevate high-level educational cooperation.

Joining Wu on this visit were representatives from CUEB, including Zhang Baoxue, Dean of the School of Statistics; Yu Jiutao, Dean of the School of Culture and Communication; Ren Tao, Dean of the School of Business; and Ruan Jing, Deputy Dean of the School of Data Science.